Descending Phoenix
by sonicarutha
Summary: “If you die, we’ll die together,” that’s what Gai had said to him before he had accepted the surgery, but what if the surgery had turned out different? Would he uphold his promise?


**Title: **Descending Phoenix  
**Pairings:** Slight GaiLee  
**Rating:** K+  
**Warnings:** There is also slight OOC, talk of death, and suicide  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own **Naruto, **Masashi Kishimoto does.

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"If we die, we'll die together…"

He knew something was wrong when the first chill passed through his body, the force pulling him into a state of worry. The air didn't seem the same, the atmosphere was so stifling. That was the moment that he knew he was gone, the moment where he felt Lee's body pass through him and disappear.

Everything froze, the next scenes of his life were a silent film in slow motion, no matter how he hoped to rewind, he knew he would never be able to. He closed his eyes as he heard the feet walking toward him, not being able to look the Hokage in the eye. He couldn't watch as her scarlet lips spoke inaudible apologies. He couldn't believe it, it was fifty-eight percent effective, only forty-two percent was against him.

At that moment, tears rolled down his face, he couldn't feel the warm tendrils until they had fallen to his clenched fists in front of him. He could only remember the promise he had made, he gave his word, he vowed that he would help his student become the best that he could be. He lied. In all of his power, he couldn't even fulfill his word to his student, he couldn't even do that much. He was a failure, a fool to think this could have worked out.

The night where he had convinced Lee to take the surgery, Lee had been crying, he was terrified that he was going to die, he was right all along. To go back to that moment, to take it all in and make the logical choice, he would give his soul. Just to hold him once more in his arms, to watch a smile roll across his face, to see Lee feel like a human there was nothing that could be sacrificed.

Lee was gone in a single instant; he had left his life with a fifty-eight percent chance saying he was going to die. Why was he the only one who suffered? To this moment, he knew it wasn't fair, nothing was fair.

As his mind went deeper into his madness he moved past the Hokage, the woman not fighting as he kept walking forward. He didn't know where he was going, his heart breaking with every step. All of this time, he had taken Lee for granted, he had played God every step of the way thinking that there was no way that they would be able to fail. This proved him wrong.

His heart wrenched as he walked down the street, all of the people looking at him knew what had happened, they all knew that Rock Lee was dead. They were mocking him. They were taunting him for being hot-headed, for being reckless with his student life. He closed his eyes as he tried to block out their silent screams at him, increasing his speed as the clouds above started to form.

He stopped as he got to the river's edge, feeling the water call to him, enticing him. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he walked closer to the edge of the bridge, the river was deep and deadly, those who dared to jump into its belly were swallowed but never vomited until days later. He swallowed hard as he looked at the dark water, his breath starting to pick up.

"I lied to you…" he breathed as he stepped toward the edge. "I lied to you when I told you it would be alright. I wanted to be right, but I was wrong…" he closed his eyes as he heard the water screaming at him. "I don't want to be alone here, Lee. I don't want to stand here thinking about how I screwed it all up."

The water was staring coldly at him as the waves became more intense, his tear drops falling into the liquid. "We were supposed to go places; we were supposed to be together until the end. And now I don't know what to do…"

As he stepped to the edge of the bridge, he started to cry harder as he thought of all of the times they had together. Tenten and Neji were now to be on their own as the days progressed. There was no turning back to that team if Lee's smile was no longer there to brighten his day, to calm his nerves.

"I cannot live in a world where you're gone…" he breathed as he looked into the water.

_I can help you…_ the water hissed at him, pulling him deeper into his inviting womb.

He moved closer as he thought back once more to Lee's face that night, to his warmth as he was held up against his body. He couldn't live with himself knowing that warmth was no longer with him. he couldn't live knowing that he had stopped that smile from living. He closed his eyes as he thought to the brighter days of his life.

"Lee…" he breathed, reaching into a distance that was beyond his fingertips, seeing him smile as he walked deeper into that eternal sunset, a tear rolling down his teacher's face. "Lee… wait for me…" he leaned forward as if trying to grab Lee's hand, the sun setting to black. "Lee!"

A splash filled the air, as the first drop of rain fell from the sky. It was the next day when they realized that he had gone missing. And it was the next day that Kakashi found the dead body in the river, a faint smile upon the deceased ninja's face, as he and Lee walked into their sunset together.

"If we die, we die together…"

He had kept his word.

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This is something I had been working on for a while, but finally got around to posting. There are still errors and I might change it a little but I'm still proud of it. But I still think it's too short.


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